Apertured wall construction



March 4, 1969 G. B. MUSE APERTURED WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed March 20,1967 INVENTOR. 650,905 5. M05: BY f flrapA/zvj United States Patent 2Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apertured wall construction comprisinga series of building blocks or bricks rigidly connectable to each other.Each block defines an aperture extending therethrough from top to bottomadjacent each of its ends. The block of each course of blocks in thewall are disposed in spaced, end to end disposition and the blocks ofthe course next above are positioned to overlap the spaces. A sleeve ispositioned in each aperture of the blocks of a course of blocks toprotrude from the top surface from each block and the blocks of thecourse of blocks next above are positioned with their apertures disposedabout the sleeves. After the wall has been assembled in this manner,mortar is poured through the aligned apertures from the top of the wall,which passes through the aligned apertures of the blocks and the sleevesdisposed therewithin.

Background of the invention When constructing decorative walls, it isoccasionally desirable to construct an apertured brick or block wallwherein the blocks of a course of blocks are spaced apart, and theblocks of the course of blocks next above overlap the spaces. Walls ofthis type are eye appealing and permit circulation of air and filtersunlight through the wall. While walls of this type have many obviousfunctional and decorative advantages, the basic disadvantages are thatwalls of this type are ditficult to construct since the spacing betwenthe ends of the bricks is critical if the wall is to be symmetrical andeye appealing and the wall is inherently Weak since a substantial lengthof each brick is required to overlap the spaces between the bricks ofthe next adjacent courses of bricks, thereby leaving a smaller area ofbrick to rest upon and adhere to the bricks in the next adjacent coursesof bricks. Where a strong wall is needed, the usual procedure in a solidwall is to construct the wall with several thicknesses of bricks;however, in an apertured wall, the placement of more than one thicknessof bricks in the wall detracts from the decorativeness of the wall, andis not practical.

Summary of the invention This invention comprises an apertured wallconstruction, and the individual components necessary for such aconstruction, wherein a plurality of bricks each having aperturesextending from top to bottom therethrough at each of its ends are placedin spaced, end to end disposition in a course of bricks in a wall,sleeves are inserted in each aperture of each brick, and the bricks ofthe course of bricks next above are placed over the sleeves to that thesleeves extend through the apertures of the bricks. The bricks of theadjacent courses of bricks are positioned so as to span the spacesbetween the ends of the bricks in the next adjacent courses of bricks.After the wall has been assembled in this manner, mortar, or similarbonding material, is poured down through the aligned apertures of thebricks and through the sleeves disposed in the apertures and left toharden. After the mortar has hardened a structurally strong aperturedwall will have been formed.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an apertured wall ofrigid construction.

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Another object of this invention is to provide an apertured wall whereinthe bricks of the wall are accurately aligned with one another.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apertured wall whereinthe bricks are bonded together by metallic sleeves and mortar.

Another object of this invention is to provide a sleeve for use in theconstruction of an apertured Wall to aid in the construction andstrength of the wall.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of easily andaccurately constructing an apertured wall having high strengthcharacteristics.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon reading the following specification when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Brief description of the drawing 'FIG. 1 is a perspective view of abuilding block utilized in the construction of the apertured wall.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sleeve utilized in conjunction withthe building block of FIG. 1 in forming an apertured wall.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, in cross section, of the buildingblock of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view, partially in cross section, of anapertured wall construction.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now more particularlyto the drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughoutthe several views, FIG. 1 shows a building block 10 utilized in formingan apertured wall. Building block 10 comprises end walls 11, side walls12, top wall 13 and bottom wall 14. End walls 11 are generally square inconfiguration; however, in some applications it may be desirable to havebuilding block 10 dimensioned with a rather large thickness incomparison to a relatively shallow height.

Side walls 12 are proportioned so as to be of equal height as end walls11 but approximately three times the length of end walls 11. As is bestshown in FIG. 3, building block 10 defines apertures 15 adjacent itsends which extend from bottom wall 14 through top wall 13. A centralcavity 16 extends from bottom wall 14 into the central portion ofbuilding block 10. Central cavity 16 is of a length which isapproximately equal to one-third the length of the building block and ofa width approximately equal to one-half the width of the building block.Cavity 16 extends approximately two-thirds the way through buildingblock 10, from bottom wall 14 toward top wall 13.

Apertures 15 at each end of building block 10 are centrally positionedbetween central cavity 16 and end walls 11. Apertures 15 are circular incross section, and are of a diameter approximately equal to one-half theWidth of building block 10. Apertures 15 open through top wall 13 andbottom wall 14 by means of annular grooves 18. Thus, annular grooves 18are such as to effectively create a small counter bore about apertures15.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a sleeve 20 is provided for each aperture 15.Sleeve 20 is generally cylindrical in configuration but defines a slot21 which extends throughout its entire length. Thus, slot 21 tends tocreate a gap in the wall of sleeve 20. Sleeve 20 defines a bead orprotrusion 22 which extends around its center portion. Sleeve 20 may beconstructed by forming the head or protrusion 22 in a strip of metal andsubsequently rolling the strip of metal to form the cylindricalconfiguration of the sleeve.

Slot 21 of sleeve 20 permits the sleeve to be contracted and the metalfrom which sleeve 20 is formed is resilient so that after such acontraction the sleeve will spring back to its original diameter. Sleeve20 is formed with a diameter approximately equal to the inside diameterof apertures 15 of building blocks 10. The bead or protrusion 22 of thesleeve 20 is of an outside diameter approximately equal to the diameterof annular grooves 18 of apertures 15 of the building block 10. Withthis construction, sleeve 20 may be slightly contracted and insertedinto an aperture 15 of building block until its bead or protrusion 22engages the inside surface of annular groove 18. The sleeve can then beallowed to expand until it engages the inside surface. of aperture 15.Sleeve 20 is of a shorter length than the length of aperture of buildingblock 10 so that the portion of the sleeve extending into an aperture 15does not extend as much as half-way through the aperture. Generally,sleeve will extend approximately one-third the way into an aperture 15.

As is best shown in FIG. 4, a series of building blocks 10 are spacedapart in end to end relationship on a level surface 25 to form the firstcourse 26 of building blocks to begin the construction of an aperturedwall. Sleeves 20 are then inserted through the top wall 13 into theapertures 15 of each building block 10. The building blocks 10 for thenext adjacent course 27 of building blocks are then placed over thespaces 28 between the adjacent blocks of the first course of blocks. Theblocks in the course 27 are positioned with their apertures 15 disposedabout the portion of the sleeves 20 protruding from the blocks of thecourse 26.

When the sleeve 20 is inserted into the blocks of course 26, bead orprotrusion 22 of the sleeve will extend into the annular groove 18 ofthe aperture 15, and when the blocks of the course 27 are inserted overthe sleeve 20, the portion of the bead or protrusion extending out ofthe annular groove 18 of the blocks in course 26 will be received in theannular groove 18 of the block in course 27. Thus, the blocks in course27 will come to rest in abutting relationship with the blocks in course26; that is, the bottom walls 14 of the blocks in course 27 will rest onthe top walls 13 of the block in course 26.

Course 29 is positioned on course 27 in a manner similar to thatdescribed above in that sleeves 20 are inserted in each of the aperturesof the blocks in course 27 and the blocks in course 29 are inserted overthe sleeves.

When the blocks in course 26 are positioned on the surface 25, it may bedifiicult for the builder to accurately space the blocks from eachother; however, after sleeves 20 have been inserted in the apertures 15of these blocks, the blocks of course 27 will not fit down over sleeves20 unless they are spaced apart at the proper distance. Thus, when theblocks of course 27 are inserted over sleeves 20 extending up from theblocks of course 26, the blocks of course 26 may have to be adjusted intheir spacing. When the second course of blocks have been positioned asdescribed, the remaining blocks in the courses of blocks to bepositioned above the first and second courses of blocks can bepositioned without adjustment of the blocks present in the course nextbelow since the spacing of the apertures 15 and dimensions of each blockare uniform.

After the desired number of course of blocks have been assembled,mortar, or other bonding material, is poured down through the alignedapertures 15 and sleeves 20. The mortar is allowed to dry and a solidbond is made between the adjacent blocks.

Since sleeves 20 extend less than half-way through the apertures 15 ofeach block, the mortar 30 will contact both the interior surface ofsleeves 20 and the middle third of the interior surface of each block10. Thus, mortar 30 will bond to the blocks and to the sleeves.

Inasmuch as sleeves 20 are fabricated of a metallic substance, theirresistance to shear forces between adjacent blocks is greater than thatof mortar or any similar bonding substance. Furthermore, as is shown inthe right portion of FIG. 4, the dried mortar or bonding substance 30will form a solid core for each sleeve 20 so that any shearing forcesapplied to the sleeves 20 by the blocks will be resisted by the coreextending through the sleeves. Furthermore, the core will prevent thesleeves 20 from contracting.

Since the apertures 15 of the building blocks are located centrally ofthe end one-third of each building block, the apertured wall constructedwith the building blocks can include corner construction withoutinterruption of the apertured design of the wall. For instance, if it isdesirable to include a angle in the wall constructed with the buildingblocks 10, the builder merely pivots the building blocks about thesleeves 20 to the desired angle and continues to build the aperturedwall, as previously described. The presence of the sleeves 20 at thejunction or corner will properly position the various blocks withrespect to one another and the sleeves 20 and bonding material 30reinforce the corner construction. Since the end walls 11 are of alength substantially equal to one-third the length of the side walls 12,a 90 corner construction will be smooth and eye appealing.

When the builder gets to the point where he desires to terminate thewall, the blocks 10 may be sawed or broken on a line continuous with theside walls of central cavity 16 so that the end thirds of the brokenblock can be utilized to fill the gaps in the unfinished wall. In otherwords, the end one-thirds of a broken block can be aligned so that itsend wall and aperture 15 are coextensive with the end walls andapertures of the building blocks in the courses next above and nextbelow. Of course, sleeves can be inserted into the aperture 15 of thebroken block as previously described.

While central cavity 16 and apertures 15 of the building block 10 arefunctional, as previously described, it should be understood that theseopenings also function to create a lightweight block. The materialabsence from the block that would ordinarily fill these spaces is ofconsiderable weight; however, the geometrical construction of the blockis such that the block retains its structural strength characteristics.For instance, the portion of the block surrounding central cavity 16 isthe P I- tion that imparts the major strength characteristics to theblock while the portion removed from the block to form central cavity 16is the portion that imparts only minor strength characteristics to theblock. Also, the portion of the block removed to form the apertures 15imparts only minor strength characterictis to the block. Also, thecircular configuration of apertures 15 lends structural rigidity to theblock.

At this point, it should be understood that an extremely strongapertured wall construction cna be formed by the use of block 10 andsleeve 20. The use of these elements in the manner as described hereinwill cause the blocks to be self-aligning so that an unskilled laymancan construct a wall of precise dimensions. Also, the wall can becompletely assembled without the use of mortar and disassembled ifdesired. Only after the wall is completely assembled is it necessary tomix the mortar. Thus, the continuous use and mixing of mortar isavoided.

It should be understood that the building blocks and sleeves may beconstructed of any desired material, including concrete or conventionalbrick substances for the block and metal or plastic substances for thesleeve, without departing from the scope of this invention.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations maybe made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating thepreesnt invention without departing from the scope thereof as defined bythe appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apertured wall structure, the combination of a plurality ofrectangular blocks assembled in spa ed end to end relationship inhorizontal courses of blocks with the middle /3 portions of the blocksof each course of blocks overlying the spaces between the blocks of thenext adjacent lower course, each of said blocks defining a recessextending from its bottom surface up into its middle /3 portion, andeach of said blocks including substantially vertically extendingcircular apertures of substantially constant cross sectional area alongat least a major portion of their lengths centrally located in the end/3 portions of each block, counterbores defined in at least one surfaceof each block about its apertures, a plurality of cylindrical resilientmetallic opened ended sleeves each including a slot from end to endalong its length and a generally annular external protrusionintermediate its ends, said blocks of each course having their aperturesaligned with the apertures of the blocks in the next adjacent course,and said sleeves positioned in the apertures at the juncture of blocksin adjacent courses of blocks and extending less than /2 the distancethrough adjaceri blocks, with the annular protrusion of each sleevebeing positioned in the counterbore of at least one of the blocks.

2. The invention of claim 1 and further including a column of mortarextending through aligned apertures and sleeves.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1, 44,554 2/1923 Quillet 52585575,209 1/1897 Bruckner 52-606 1,051,427 1/1913 McCluskey 52-5851,151,974 8/1915 Straight.

1,296,342 3/1919 Tozzi 52585 2,382,098 8/1945 Robie 285397 FOREIGNPATENTS 72,297 10/1959 France. 588,302 5/1947 Great Britain.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

